Bethesda Woman Sentenced in Mortgage Fraud Scheme
Recruited Straw Purchasers and Prepared False Documents to Buy Properties, Resulting in Over $2.5 Million in Losses to 10 Individuals and Banks

BALTIMORE, MD—U.S. District Judge J. Frederick Motz sentenced Kara McIntosh, age 47, of Bethesda, Maryland, today to three years in prison followed by three years of supervised release for mail fraud arising from the fraudulent purchase of properties in Maryland and the District of Columbia using false mortgage documents, announced United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein. Judge Motz also entered a restitution order against McIntosh of $3,362,970.

According to her plea agreement, beginning in 2006, McIntosh, Timothy Reed and others recruited straw buyers to purchase houses. McIntosh knew the straw purchasers were not planning to live in the properties and did not qualify for the home mortgages. Some of the straw buyers purchased multiple properties at the same time. To enable straw buyers to purchase the properties, McIntosh was paid to prepare fraudulent mortgage applications which misrepresented the straw buyers’ income and assets. McIntosh also received part of the fraudulently obtained mortgage funds. For example, at one closing, McIntosh falsely claimed $109,600 for “renovations” that her company, Washington Finance Group, purportedly performed. No such renovations ever occurred.

This scheme involved fraudulent loans worth over $19,021,366. Over 10 individuals and banks were harmed. The loss amount foreseeable to McIntosh is between $2.5 and $7 million. Many of the purchased properties have been foreclosed upon.

Sabrina Weinberg, age 44, of Bethesda, Maryland, was sentenced on October 16, 2009 to two years in prison for mail fraud. Osman Sharrieff Al-Bari, age 35, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced on October 5, 2009 to 78 months in prison. Jamilah Al-Bari, age 37, of District Heights, Maryland; Timothy Reed, age 44, of Beltsville; and Terrence White, age 36, of Oxon Hill have all pleaded guilty to mail fraud in connection with their participation in this scheme and are scheduled to be sentenced in the next two months.

This prosecution has been brought as part of the Maryland Mortgage Fraud Task Force, a group of more than 15 federal, state and local law enforcement agencies in Maryland. The Task Force was formed to promote the early detection, identification, prevention, and prosecution of various kinds of mortgage fraud schemes. This case, as well as other cases brought by members of the Task Force, demonstrates the commitment of Maryland’s law enforcement agencies to protect consumers from fraud and help to ensure the integrity of the mortgage market and other credit markets. Information about mortgage fraud prosecutions is available on the internet at http://www.justice.gov/usao/md/priorities.html.

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein thanked the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office - Economic Crimes Unit and the U.S. Secret Service for their investigative work and assistance. Mr. Rosenstein commended Assistant United States Attorney Kwame J. Manley, who prosecuted the case.